Friday, 26 October 2007

Aberystwyth - Downies Vaults

Background: Formerly a tidy boozer with some nice period features and comfy individualist drinking areas. Successive refurbs over the years has taken the edge off it though. Back in the day, this was a classic comfy two-roomed bar...

Student factor: More of a locals pub at the weekend, but students make up a fair portion of the drinkers during the week, often from the Interpol Department.

Atmosphere: Very packed and very rowdy on the weekend, but in contrast is quite quiet and reserved during the week. Go figure.

Drinks range: Not bad, has something for everyone. Main drink for the alcoholics and scrawny male students trying to show off is the Admiral – 4 vodka’s and a Red Bull. Last time I heard it was £4, making it a natural successor to the ‘triple vodka for 99p’ promotion that used to be on offer at the Beeching’s.

TV/Music: Mainly music, the jukebox in here was one of the best in Aber a few years back, but now just pumps out standard stuff. Although there are speakers in the bogs, which is a rarefied bonus in these heathen parts.

Other stuff: Fred the landlord has a ‘unique’ way of removing unwanted drunken customers. Some nice stained glass windows and tiling if that sort of thing floats your boat.

Quinno’s verdict: Sometimes worth a stop during the week, but less so on a weekend (unless you get there before 8:30pm), where the queues are too big, the jukey is too loud and you have to shout conversation to the person stood six inches away from you.

3 comments:

Anonymous
said...

The smell was there when I went in a couple of weeks ago. The whole place was dirty and smelly. It was midweek, it was nearly empty. The music was turned to mach 10 though so I conversation could not be had. We left quickly.

WORST pub in Aber. Always full of pervy local old men, groping both male and female students. EVERY Saturday night there is a fight inside/outside between some drunken local teenage boy wanting to start on students.